The Humility Ritual
by happychica
Summary: After passing the Forest of Death, the twelve genin must do one more thing. Editing in process, please bare with?...
1. Instructions

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Actually, I only own half of this idea. My friend from dance helped me come up with the dares. She's addicted to this story.

Dedication: I would like to dedicate this story to my cousin David, since this scares him so much. They say you have to face your fears to overcome them. Maybe enough AU will show him that the regular Naruto characters are pretty cool.

A/N: Yes, I was unaware of the whole 'fighting-each-other' part when I wrote this. This is completely off the canon plot line for a growing list of reasons. That's not going to change.

…..

6:00pm

"Yeah, all done, WE PASSED!" A blonde-haired ninja yelled, jumping around the room of his old school and proceeding to damage everything in his path.

"It feels kinda like when Kakashi-sensai passed us the very first time," whispered a pink-haired girl, watching as her crazed teammate attempted to bounce off some excess energy. The third member of team seven was leaning against one of the walls, waiting for their sensai to arrive so he could leave. _Then again, I should be used to this by now. When has he_ ever _been on time? _thought the raven-haired ninja.

His eyelids had begun to droop when a loud bang announced the arrival of the rest of the rookie nine. They were all shouting and patting each other on the back. They had all passed! Something none of them had expected to happen. A few minutes later, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji walked in as well. Lee was carrying a huge bottle of some clear liquid. His teammate, Tenten, was carrying a hat and several glasses. Neji was carrying his usual frown. Placing the three items on the desk, the team turned to face the rookie nine.

"We are the only teams to pass," said Neji. "Some tradition dictates that we must spend the night in this room. The only items we are allowed to use to pass the time are the hat, whatever's in it, the liquid, which is also the only thing we are allowed to eat, and these cups."

"What!" shouted Naruto. "All night with some of you people could be lethal!"

"You may leave, but they will make you take the test again. This is all they are providing, and there are guards all around the building.

"Actually Neji, Gai-sensai said they bring in food at about midnight, so there's no point in leaving at all," said Tenten.

"Snacks aren't an issue." Finding a chair, Chouji began digging through his bag, producing several bags of chips. "We can do this, easy."

"How about we see what's in that hat. Besides, I'm bored." The comment had come from a medium height boy with brown hair. It stuck out from the back of his head, making the whole appendage look sort of like a pineapple.

"You're always bored, Shikamaru" replied a tall blonde girl. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, except for one part at the front, which never did anything else, no matter how hard she tried.

"You're no better Ino," pointed out Neji. He walked over to the hat and reached in. He pulled out a piece of paper. It read:

_Congratulations, you've made great progress! You've discovered the beginning of the end of this ritual! Here are the rules, the steps, and a few warnings:_

_Instructions:_

_Step 1: Each person must pull out a sheet of paper from the hat. A name is written on the paper. The drawer must read the paper, aloud, to the person whose name is on the paper._

_Step 2: The person whose name is one the paper must do EXACTLY as the paper says._

_Step 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2 until there is no more paper in the hat._

_Rules:_

_NO QUESTIONS! Do as the paper says, or fail the exam._

_All must be finished before midnight._

_NO COMPLAINING! Chunins don't complain._

_You may NEVER speak of this to anyone whose name does not come out of the hat. Doing so will cause said offender to be reverted back to level of genin, PERMENTLY!_

_Warnings:_

_This will involve breaking rules. DON'T GET CAUGHT!_

_This will involve being condescending (see rule 3)_

_This will probably result in lose of memory. That is normal; this is not something you want to remember, consciously._

_Now you know how to end this, you maybe begin._

When Neji had finished reading the paper allowed he looked around at the others. "Shall we begin?" The group nodded, various annoyed and concerned faces greeting the speaker. "Anyone volunteering to be first?" No one raised their hand.

"Fine I'll go. Let's just get this over with. Dumb ritual…" Shikamaru walked up to the front of the classroom and thrust his hand into the hat. Pulling it back out, he looked at the name on the piece of paper.

"Well, who goes first?" asked Tenten.

A/N: Well, it's a bit improved. And yes, I am doing this in part because I haven't really figured out what chapter five is going to be. It will, however, have the ending of Naruto's dare.


	2. Chouji

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, which is probably good. Also, my friend owns half this idea, so thank you to her!

Thank you to _chibinecco_! She reviewed! And, as per my say, her choice of ninja goes first!

6:15 p.m.

Shikamaru studied the paper, laughter plaguing his usually bored eyes.

"Well," repeated TenTen, "Who goes first?"

"Chouji goes first," mumbled Shikamaru, trying in vain to keep the laughter out of his voice.

"What?"

Shikamaru cleared his throat and tried again. "Chouji goes first."

"Okay, what do I have to do? And can we make this fast? Somebody's cooking barbeque and I intend to get me some as soon as I'm finished here." Chouji looked impatiently at the brown-haired chunin.

"Well, I guess you're wrong," was the muffled answer. Shikamaru was having trouble speaking again, the laughter having returned full force.

"What do you mean? Neji said we could leave as long as we didn't get caught. You don't think I could do that? I hate to crash your little 'I-know-everything' world, but I can be as small and as sneaky as I want to _when_ I want to be, so there."

"I know THAT, Chouji, I'm on you team, for heaven's sake. It's just, the dare, THAT'S why you can't leave."

"Care to explain…"

Shikamaru looked down at the paper, cleared his throat, and then began to read aloud.

_Chouji is not aloud to eat anything for 15 minutes. Further more, he must be observed by the other participants to ensure that said ninja does not cheat._

"Like I'd do that!" shouted a very annoyed 'said ninja.'

"WE know that, but THEY don't, they being who ever wrought this note. Furthermore, you aren't allowed to complain and you must do EVERYTHING that the note says, or you do not pass." Shikamaru then proceeded to lose it. Mind, anyone would, with the look on Chouji's face, the lack of sleep and nourishment.

The young genius wasn't the only one, either. Naruto and Sakura had collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically. Ino and Rock Lee were grinning excitedly. TenTen was leaning on a desk, fighting for much-needed oxygen that refused to come. Hinata was leaning on Kiba, who was trying very hard to stay standing, the former was giggling madly, while the later had given into full blown laughter without much of a fight. Akamaru was sleeping on his master's head, oblivious to all. Shino gave off the appearance of vibrating, but perhaps this was only since his coat never cam off. The only person, other than Neji, not laughing was Sasuke, or supposed to be. Apparently everything from the past few days had had its effects on him to, for a slightly larger-then-necessary smile was gracing his usually blank features. (1)

Chouji, however, was NOT laughing. Actually, he seemed rather distraught, to be completely honest.

"No food! For 15 fifteen minutes! That's just…mean!"

"Come on Chouji, the sooner you get this started, the sooner you can go get that bar-be-que you smell." Sakura was now off the floor, the first to recover from the almost random laughing fit that had seized all of them. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed that hard.

"But…but…"

"It'll be over soon," whispered Shino, his movement slowing.

"Fine then," mumbled Chouji, a frown crossing his usually peaceful face.

"It's not like you have any choice Chouji, not if you want to pass this exam."

"Neji, do not enjoy my suffering!"

"Okay, the dare starts at 6:20," Naruto cheered as he bounded up onto a desk to watch the clock next to the door.

"Shut up, Naruto, I don't need to hear your dang cheerfulness right now!"

"Don't yell, Chouji, it's not Naruto's fault. If it's anyone's it's mine, I pulled your name."

"Yes, but isn't blaming a form of complaining?" smirked Neji.

"Stop it!" Oh yes, Neji was _really_ starting to enjoy himself…

…

6:20p.m.

"Start!" bellowed three _very_ hyper ninjas. Naruto and TenTen, having grown bored, snuck out and collected as much of a certain,_ legal_ substance that can give oneself excess energy. The two the roped poor Hinata into getting the stuff back into the building. Then, with poor Chouji watching, the 12 other ninjas consumed 25-pounds of, you guessed it, SUGAR! Now most of the said 'mature' ninjas were bouncing around the room and doing other stupid things. The rest were playing a weird game the involved singing, dancing, and keeping an ever changing beat. Somebody had to be pumping something into the air. That or they really were that tired.

Chouji glared at his fellow shinobi. In an act of almost kindness, they had removed his bag from him, hiding across the room so he wouldn't be tempted to cheat. However, his seat was directly under the open window, which meant he was smelling everything being cooked and that bar-be-que was starting to smell way too good.

_Perhaps if I can keep my thought off of things that have to do with food then I can make it through this. Okay, um, weapons. There is the kunai, a smallish knife-like weapon. Usually this weapon is carried in a pouch on one's leg, which leg being decided by which hand the person fights/writes with. Um, shurikan: small, x-shaped disks. These are usually small for carrying in a pouch, but can be much larger, and strapped to ones back, or collapsible, and carried in a pack on ones back. They tend to look like pinwheels. Wait, no, that's a food! Man, this is gonna be hard…_

…

6:30 p.m.

A foot whipped by Chouji's face, barely missing his nose. The chunin leapt back with a yelp of surprise.

"TenTen! What are doing, trying to remove my nose! I like it where it is, thank you very much."

"Sorry, you looked like you were having a bad dream, but you were awake, so I thought I should try to distract you. You know how you shake a person who is asleep, you shake them which distracts there subconscious? Well, I thought spooking you would shock your consciousness."

"What?"

TenTen sighed. "You looked like you were having a bad dream, but you were awake-"

"No, no, I got that; it just didn't make any sense, that's all."

"Yes it does. Maybe the lack of food is dropping your IQ."

"Ugh! Look, you've made you're point, now could you leave me alone, please? I've got," Chouji glanced at the clock, "four more minutes. I think I can last that long, though if you have anything that I could think about that doesn't lead to food that would really help."

"Um, how about you try to remember what everyone's name translates to, nobody's name translates to food-related stuff, right?"

"It's worth a shot."

"Want to say it out loud, so I can correct you if you're wrong?"

"Okay, which name first?"

"Um…" TenTen glanced around the room, her eyes lighting on Sakura.

"What does Sakura's name mean?"

"Um, um, I know this, I do. Um, um, something to do with flowers, right?"

"What kind?"

"Um, fruit related?"

"Yup!"

"Um, um, ah, oh, it's right there. Um, um, I got it! Cheery blossoms!

"Righty-O! Next, um….Iruka-sensei."

"Oh, I got this one, I got his one. Let's see…sensei is master, and Iruka is…..a type of animal?"

"Yup, what kind?"

"Um, lives in water?"

"Right again, now what's the _final_ answer?"

"Um…DOLPHIN!"

"Yes-ser-e-Bob! That's right"

"Wonder what dolphin tastes like…."

"I dunno, but you can go find out, cuz-"

"TIMES UP!" yelled 11 sugar-hyper ninjas (2)!

"Then I'm out of here, I…need…FOOD!" With that, Chouji leapt out of the window and pelted down the street.

"Funny, I didn't really believe him when he said he could be silent, but I can't hear him," muttered Shikamaru.

"Well, you ARE pretty out of it. Anyways, let's see who gets to go next!" cheered Hinata, laughter reappearing in her eyes.

"Okay, since you're so psyched by this thing, YOU pick the name, missy."

"Will, do Neji!" Hinata giggled as she ran up to the hat. Plunging her hand in, she pulled out a piece of paper. "Next victim is…"

….

Chouji leapt nimbly from rooftop to rooftop, eyes seeking out his prey.

_Should be heading home, odd creature. Could swear Tenten said they live in water, guess this one disagrees. Bingo, there he is!_ Upon seeing our poor victim, Chouji jumped onto his back and attempted to bit the creature.

"What the-! Get off, Chouji, I'm not food!"

"You speak?" blinked the confused ninja. "But, animals cannot speak, it is impossible."

"Well, this one can and dearly wishes that you leave it alone. Besides I'm not an animal."

"Animals can experience denial too!"

"For the love of-" But our slightly crazy ninja was off, hoping his barbeque would be fully dead, and most defiantly NOT talk back.

"Ah, that was-"

"Thoroughly amusing. You handled that rather well, Iruka-sensei. I thought for sure you would have lost your temper. You sure are something"

"Shut it, Kakashi-sensei, you are NOT helping. You're actually making this worse, so good job," snapped a very annoyed school-teacher, blushing furiously.

"Well, either way, perhaps I should escort you home? Make sure no more past students jump you?"

"You make it sound like it's such a crime."

"Eating people isn't? Dear me, I had no idea. I must remember that. Anyways, may I walk you home?"

"Knock yourself out, literally."

"Only when you're home."

"Yeah, but not inside my house, okay? Naruto still mocks me because I couldn't kick you out. I really didn't appreciate that, you know."

"I know, but your face was priceless."

"This time I will kick you out, Kakashi-sensei. Or drag you out, if you have the nerve to fall asleep again."

"Oh, then I must fall asleep. I'm sure the night patrolman would love to know what you were doing."

"I said kick you out not take you home!" With that said, Iruka-sensei turned and walked away, the Copy-Ninja following behind, probably plotting, but who knows?

TBC

Notes: (1) Even though I wrote this, I still can't see Sasuke smiling like Naruto.

(2) Yup, even Neji and Sasuke finally ate enough sugar to be considered hyper. Disturbing thought, huh?

A/N: Okay, for all, I DO LIKE CHOUJI! But the idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave, so this is the version you got. Least he is now done and safe, I think. He might be a witness later on, or I might have him sleep. Attacking a talking dolphin must be tiring work.

Also, I think it seemed a bit yaoi at the end. Again, that was the only way it would come out, so please understand and forgive (though I think somebody liked that stuff, not entirely sure…:P)


	3. Naruto, part I

Chapter 3

_6:36 p.m._

"I wonder where Chouji is," wondered Ino. "After all, we teammates should stick together."

"Who cares, he's probably just peeved at having to not eat for so long," muttered Shikamaru, "how troublesome."

"Alright, who goes next, Hinata?" asked Ino, still watching the window Chouji had exited through.

"Um, Naruto goes next," said Hinata, smiling vaguely at the paper. The shy side was starting to shine through again.

"Okay, what do I have to do?" asked Naruto, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Um, you have to, um, uh." Hinata's face was a nice shade of red, but Naruto wanted his dare.

"Come onnn, what iss it?" he begged, sliding to his knees and attempting puppy dos eyes.

"Um, youhavetoaskGai-."

"What?"

"You, uh, have to, um, use you ninja centerfold to, uh, ask out, uh Gai-sensei." _She could pass as a tomato right now._ Ah, Neji is so kind. Naruto, meanwhile, was just blinking, looking rather like a lost duck.

"I gotta ask Gai-sensei out? The crazy one?"

"No questions, Naruto." Yup, Neji was defiantly having fun.

"Fine, fine, but thank God for loop wholes."

"Loop wholes? How's that going to change anything?"

"Well, the dare said I had to ask out Gai-sensei, it never said I had to go on a date with him!" Naruto was now looking extremely pleased with this dare.

"But Naruto," whispered TenTen, "if you don't go on the date, doesn't that make you a liar?"

"Not if I don't agree to actually ever meeting some place! Now, what am I gonna wear? I can hardly show up naked, and that smoke won't last forever."

"We could see if Anko or Kurenai-sensei has anything, "suggested Ino, helpful as ever. She had completely forgotten about Chouji, who was, as Shikamaru said, currently stuffing his face at a restaurant.

"Then let's go! I'm not wasting all night on this dare!" With that, Naruto, TenTen, Ino, and Rock Lee set off into the night.

…..

Their first stop was Anko's house, since it was closer. Luckily for our four new chunins, Anko wasn't home at the moment, so sneaking through the window was considerably easier, though Lee fell on his face. Once inside, the four ninjas moved quickly to Anko's bedroom and, after checking to make sure there were no traps, set about finding Naruto something to wear.

"Wow, all black, never saw _that_ coming," muttered TenTen.

"Yeah, that is pretty surprising," agreed Ino cheerfully. TenTen rolled her eyes, and then began searching for something for Naruto. Sakura and Ino began raiding the make up and accessory stores, while the two boys sat around, feeling awkward and more than a little concerned.

"Here's something," announced TenTen after a few minutes of searching. She held up a simple black dress. "Put it on Naruto."

"Okay," said Naruto, reaching to take the dress.

"Change into a girl first!"

"Um, could Lee leave the room first, then?"

"I won't look!"

"Yeah, but you're still a guy."

"And you are not?"

"Look, Ino and I know what is gonna happen. No offense Lee, but if you know what a girl with no clothes on looks like, we need to talk."

"I do not and have no wish to!"

"Then leave!"

"Alright, alright, I am going, I am going!" And with that, Rock Lee left the room, feeling extremely uneasy at how this whole night was going to turn out.

"Right, he's gone." A few hand signs later, and there stood Naruto, very much a girl, and covered in only quickly fading smoke.

"Now see if this fits," said TenTen, holding out the dress. Naruto took it and slipped it on. Once the smoke had completely vanished, Ino and TenTen were impressed. The dress fit Naruto much better than they had thought it would, considering Anko was built along lines slightly different from Naruto's jutsu. The sleeves came half way down Naruto's lower arm and the bottom part of the dress skimmed the floor. "Excellent! Now we just need, uh-"

"Accessories!" bellowed Ino.

"You didn't need to shout, Ino, we're right here."

"Okay, okay. Here, hold still and let the real girls work."

….

Rock Lee sat in the other room, flipping through the obligatory photo album on the coffee table. From all Naruto's squawking, it sounded like they were doing a lot more than just painting his face. Lee shuddered and turned another page. He hoped desperately that his dare would be vastly different.

…..

"There, all done!"

TenTen blinked, looking the Naruto over and nodding approvingly. "Alright, let's go. We should probably send Lee back to the others. They could get some dares done while we're finishing up. After all, we've only got till midnight."

"Okay, but what if they pull your name while you're helping me?" asked Naruto, looking concerned.

"Good luck with Ino.

"You can't be serious!"

"Can and am, now let's go." The two left the room to find the Ino and Lee engaged in a staring contest. When Lee had won, TenTen explained their plan. "Lee, you're going to go back to the others and tell them to keep doing dares, alright? We're going to finish up this one."

"Alright, I will do that. Do not disgrace my sensei!"

"Lee, he's my sensei, too."

"Yes, of course. Now, I depart. Good luck to you!" And with that, the ninja with the world's coolest eyebrows departed. The three remaining ninjas departed for Ino's house seconds after, one hyper, one in shock, and one with a growing feeling of unease.

_7:10 p.m._

"Found him, elusive little bugger…"

"Ino shut up! You're gonna get us caught!"

"Well, what now?"

"Ask him out!"

"Ino shut up! You are not helping!"

"Yes, I am. I made Naruto the prettiest girl in Konohagakure."

"You did?"

"She did. People here do tend to run on the scared side. You should know, you hang out with Iruka-sensei, and he's got a nice one, right across his nose."

"Stop it!"

"Whatever, let's just do this, alright?"

"Fine, let's do this. Wish me luck!"

_7:11 p.m._

"Um, excuse me, is this seat taken?" Gai-sensei looked up to find a pretty young girl watching him with innocent intensity.

"NO, BUT YOU'RE WELCOME TO TAKE IT FOR YOUR OWN USE!" The girl curtsied slightly, then took the seat next to the green-clad ninja. He looked her over and had to admit she was probably the prettiest girls in Konohagakure, no scars at all! And the black dress complimented her looks rather nicely, as did the silver chain around her neck.

"Um, I'm new to town. Is there anything you would recommend?" The girl was ever so polite.

"HMMM, I RECOMMEND THE SITHLEMAR (1). IT'S VERY GOOD!"

"Thank you, I think I'll try that." The two placed their orders. "Thanks you for the advice."

"THAT'S QUITE ALRIGHT!" said Gai-sensei, flashing his good-guy smile. The girl smiled faintly. Finally their food came, breaking the slightly awkward silence that had fallen between them. Finally, Gai-sensei broke the silence.

"YOU SAID YOU WERE NEW TO THIS TOWN, CORRECT?" The girl nodded, not pausing to look at the strange man who talked a bit too loud. "WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SHOW YOU AROUND THE TOWN LATER?"

"That would be lovely, sir. What time should we meet?"

"LET'S MEET BACK HERE AT 8."

"See you then."

Gai-sensei paid the bill, then left, whistling much quieter than he talks.

"Yes," whispered Naruto. "That stupid dare is finished."

"Not quite," said a voice behind him. Spinning, Naruto groaned inwardly.

"I don't suppose you would agree to not turn us, would you?" he asked, knowing there was no way she would.

"No, but go on that date and I'll hold my tongue. Of course, you still have to be done and back by midnight."

"Fine, it's done."

"Alright, now take your friends and go back. And do say hi to Lee for me, would you?"

"Man, we got majorly busted, didn't we?"

"Yes, yes you did."

"Well, see you later then, I guess."

"Alright, bye. Oh, and Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"I would like that dress back."

TBC

(1) Sithlemar is a made up dish as far as happychica is aware. (Hits self over head with a frying pan)


	4. Of dogs and bugs

Disclaimer: Still not mine!!!

A/N: I AM SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I live, and I come bearing an update!!!! I know that this chapter will be short, but I am _trying_ to make the next chapter longer/better. …../crickets/…..um…please read?

Chapter 4

_7:39 p.m._

"Okay, seeing as Naruto and the others probably won't be back for a while, why don't we do another dare while we're waiting?" asked Sakura. The other nodded. It was starting to get a tad boring just sitting and waiting for something that could take hours to complete. Smiling, the pink-haired kunoichi reached into the hat and pulled out a slip of paper. Scanning it quickly, the girl smirked as she read the deed allowed.

_Shino and Kiba, switch your pets for five minutes._

"WHAT?" the two boys angrily. Shino could feel his bugs' unease increasing with his own. Kiba merely clutched Akamaru to his chest, the poor creature whining pitifully.

"We can't do that!" said Kiba, anger now in check….more or less.

"Why not?" questioned Sakura, her smirk quickly turning mischievous.

"Because….because…because Shino's bugs are a part of him!" The dog-boy rocked back on his heels, smiling victoriously.

"I wouldn't be in here if it couldn't be done, you sissies. Now switch!" Opening his mouth to protest, Kiba quickly shut it again at the look on the young kunoichi's face (isn't she the youngest?). She a valid point, and even if it wasn't, there was never any point in arguing with a kunoichi. They always won, _always_. Sighing, Kiba held Akamaru out to his teammate, his heart breaking at his best friend's pitiful whimperings. Recognizing defeat as well, Shino held out his arms as well. Once the switch was made, Sakura looked at the clock.

_7:41 p.m._

"Alright guys, start!"

TIME SKIP TIME SKIP TIME SKIP TIME SKIP TIME SKIP

_7:46 p.m._

"Alright guys, you can switch back!"

With a final yelp, Akamaru broke out of the Aburame boy's hold and sprinted across the room. At the same time, hundreds of minute bugs streamed down the Inuzuka's arms, racing across hard wood paneling for home. The white bog growled menacingly at the tiny insects, daring them to turn around and return to his master. If bugs could roll their eyes, several hundred pairs of eyes would have done just that.

Once all the bugs had returned safely to their master, the dog pounced on his own. Landing on Kiba, Akamaru set about riding his master of the horrible stench the bugs had left in their wake. The young shinobi could only clutch helplessly at the small white creature, trembling.

"H-How can you stand th-the crawling, a-and scuttling, a-and…a-and…a-and…any of it?" cried the boy, clutching Akamaru closer still, eyes wide. Shino, shaking as hard, whispered back:

"How can you not?"

"Boys, boys, its fine. You did it, you're free! Now just chill, ok?" asked Sakura. The boys looked at each other, nodded, and scooted farther away from the other. The kunoichi sighed. _This could be a looong night._

"Ok, so who's next, asked Lee, watching the hat fearfully.

"Why don't you pick," said Sakura. Lee nodded and moved towards the hat. Reaching inside, the shinobi quickly withdrew his hand when the door to the classroom burst open.

"Huh?"

"Oh. My. Gosh."

TBC

A/N: There ya go; an update. I _seriously_ apologize for the long wait time, and will try _sooooooooooooooooooooo_ hard to make the next chapter better. THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU'RE STILL READING!!!!!!


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